Cake Decorating 101

For the last year I have wanted to learn the art of decorating cakes... and I finally found an affordable and local cake decorating class that I am taking with a friend of mine in town. Not to be too modest, but I can make a tasty dessert, however, when it comes to the presentation and appearance, I need some work.

This class is going to do just the trick! We had a homework assignment last week to bake a cake and ice using the techniques we learned in class with our icing bags and try out one or two of the designs we learned last week. I baked a red velvet cake (my first time!) and was psyched at how well the icing and design turned out... Yes, it is fairly basic but to me it looks like something you would find in an actual bakery (at least a grocery store bakery...) Now tonight we are going to dye the icing and learn to make shapes... try to contain your excitement... I will try to post again with the results this week.

Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Icing aka the BEST cake EVER!

This cake was so divine... from the creamy frosting to the juicy sweet strawberries to the dense vanilla cake... Unfortunately I did not have the proper pans to bake the cake so I had to use a bundt cake pan which did not work very well with the torting (aka cutting the cake in half to add a layer of filling--which is also why I do not have a photo of the final product. Additionally it left me with about 1.5 extra cups of strawberry frosting... I am sure we can find a use for that!). So this weekend I will be making an investment in our baking future and purchasing two of the 9 inch round pans that the cake was supposed to be made with. Most importantly though, the cake was "licking your plate" good.

VANILLA CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY CREAM ICING

FROSTING
2 x 8 ounce packages of light cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup seedless strawberry jam (or with seeds if that is all you can find…)
¾ cup chilled heavy whipping cream

CAKE
3 cups cake flour (or if you do not have cake flour then for every cup of cake flour, substitute 7/8 cup regular flour and 2 T cornstarch... Additionally I used whole wheat flour to make it a bit healthier).
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
3 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
7 large eggs
2 T vanilla extract
1 cup light sour cream
6 T plus 1/3 cup strawberry jam
2 ¼ pounds strawberries, hulled, sliced (about 6 cups) divided

Frosting
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in sugar, then jam. Beat cream in a separate medium bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into frosting. Cover; chill until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours.

Cake
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add in sour cream and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, beating to blend after each addition. Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around pan sides then turn out cakes onto racks and cool completely.

Using large serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place one cake half, cut side up on cake plate. Spread 2 T strawberry jam over, then ¾ cup frosting. Top with ¾ cup sliced berries, arranging in a single layer. Repeat 2 more times with cake layer, jam, frosting, and berries. Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread two cups frosting over top and sides of cake in thin layer to coat completely. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Stir remaining jam to loosen and spoon spoonfuls onto top and sides of cake, then use back of spoon to swirl jam decoratively. DO AHEAD—Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Cut cake into wedges and serve alongside remaining strawberries.

RECIPE FROM BON APPETIT MAGAZINE, MAY 2009.

4 Cheese Baked Penne with Leeks

Mr. E. and I try never to let anything go to waste in our kitchen. So... as I was scanning the refrigerator on Friday so that I could create our grocery list for the next morning, I found a bag of what I thought were leeks that I had purchased the previous week. Realizing that their shelf life was probably close to expiring, I quickly scanned my cooking magazines for a recipe that included leeks and would satisfy our saturday comfort food craving. This recipe immediately struck my fancy.... However, Mr. E. and I have been trying to eat healthier in the cheese department as that lovely food is chock full of saturated fats! AND... Mr. E. fancies a four cheese macaroni and cheese prepared by Trader Joe's so we decided to alter the recipe in the magazine to meet both of those needs with four different LITE cheeses and 2% milk rather than whole milk...The only problem was that as I worked to prepare the food for dinner...I realized that the bag of leeks in the refrigerator, was actually a bag of bok choy. Whoops... thank you Mr. E. for making yet another trip to the grocery Saturday afternoon... We served it with a side of peppery arugula salad... Bellisimo!

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
* 5 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 5 large)
* 1/4 cup all purpose flour
* 3 1/2 cups 2% milk
* 1 pound Lite extra-sharp cheddar cheese, lite swiss, lite gouda and lite edam coarsely grated (about 4 cups packed)
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* 2 large eggs
* 1 pound penne pasta

Preparation

Lightly butter 15x10x2-inch baking dish. Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks; stir to coat. Cover saucepan and cook until leeks are tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes (do not brown). Uncover saucepan; add flour. Stir 2 minutes. Add milk; bring to simmer, stirring often. Add cheese, mustard, and pepper sauce. Stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat. Season cheese sauce to taste with salt.
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Whisk eggs in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in 1 cup cheese sauce. Stir egg mixture into cheese sauce in saucepan.
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Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Return to pot.
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Stir cheese sauce into pasta in pot. Transfer to prepared baking dish. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
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Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake pasta until cheese sauce is bubbling around edges and some ends of pasta are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
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Let stand 15 minutes. Serve hot.
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Test-kitchen TIP
Unlike classic mac and cheese, which is thickened by a roux (a flour and butter mixture), this one uses eggs to make a rich, gooey custard. But be careful when adding the hot cheese sauce to the eggs; you'll need to whisk the sauce in slowly so that the eggs don't curdle.

Original Recipe from Bon Appetit, March 2009. Altered on 4/4/09 by M. Elton

Sugar Cookies

My grandma had surgery a few weeks ago and rather than send her flowers (I am sure she received plenty of flowers.. and they always die! Giving someone a plant that will continue to grow is always better from my perspective). However, I did not have a plant to send so I decided to make her the next best thing... colorful sugar cookies! A few months ago I purchased supplies to decorate cakes as I had been hoping to take a class this winter. Unfortunately that did not work out... however, I did find a class starting in April and my friend Gloria and I are going to learn how to decorate cakes this spring. The reason for the long explanation is that I had the supplies at home to dye the icing those incredible colors. On a cloudy day like today, everyone could use a colorful sugar cookie in their life, right?

Vegetable Reubens

As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, Mr. E. and I were in Burlington, VT for a wedding and ate at this amazing restaurant called the Penny Cluse Cafe for the rehearsal dinner and then for brunch before we flew home on Sunday. My brunch meal was a vegetable reuben with homefries that had to be one of the top five sandwiches I have EVER eaten, hands down. So this past Friday I attempted to recreate this mouthwatering sandwich for the Mr. and I...and I must say... I was quite successful!


SANDWICH INGREDIENTS

Light Rye Bread (unless you want the full intense flavor of Rye... I like a mix)
* 1 large yellow onion
* 8 oz. button mushrooms
* 8 oz. frozen spinach
* Gouda Cheese (or Swiss if your husband will eat it...)
* 6 oz. Sauerkraut
* 2 T butter
* 1 T olive oil
* sprinkling of white sugar

EMERIL'S RUSSIAN DRESSING (www.foodnetwork.com)I actually halved the recipe because we did not need 1.5 cups for two people... and we had leftovers for aioli the next day!

* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup chili sauce
* 1 tablespoon minced yellow onion
* 1 tablespoon minced dill pickle
* 1 tablespoon minced celery
* 1 tablespoon minced parsley leaves
* 1 tablespoon heavy cream
* 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon sugar
* Salt

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except salt and whisk until well-blended. Add salt to taste, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

Slice the onions and button mushrooms and defrost the frozen spinach in the microwave with a tablespoon of water. Melt 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil in a large saute pan and add the onions. Saute the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with white sugar to help them caramelize a bit... add the mushrooms and spinach and continue to saute until mushrooms have turned a creamy brown color. Set aside to cook.

Prepare the reuben dressing and then slice enough Gouda cheese for both sandwiches. Take one piece of rye bread and spread the dressing on the sandwich and follow with a layer of vegetables and then a layer of sauerkraut (I patted mine with a paper towel to remove some of the liquid). Top with the gouda cheese and the second slice of rye bread.

Turn the broiler to medium heat and place a medium saute pan on the heat. Paint some of the melted butter on the sandwich and place it butter side down in the pan for four minutes. After four minutes, paint the other side of the sandwich with butter and flip and grill for an additional four minutes until cheese is melted and sandwich is warmed through. Repeat with the second sandwich. Slice the sandwich on the diagonal (I will only slice on the diagonal for reubens...) and serve with a big kosher pickle!

Mojito Dipping Oil

Last weekend Mr. E.'s best friend got married in Vermont and we spent a long weekend celebrating the happy couple. Their rehearsal dinner was held at this wonderful restaurant in Burlington called the Penny Cluse cafe. It was AMAZING. The dinner was so good that we went back for brunch on Sunday before we left town and the sandwich I ate ranks in the top 5 sandwiches that I have ever eaten so I will attempting to replicate that later this week. Anyways, during dinner they served crusty sourdough bread (homemade I am sure...) with this wonderful dipping sauce (not the right word....) or oil and it was just the right mixture of zing with a touch of oil but primarily fruit juice based. I asked the waiter what was in the special sauce. He was nice enough to share that it was called Mojito sauce and provided the ingredients. I attempted to make it this weekend and the recipe follows. It was wonderful with bread and then I used the leftovers as salad dressing!

MOJITO SAUCE


For 2...

1/4 c. cilanto, washed and de-stemmed but not chopped
the juice of one orange
the juice of 2 limes
hearty dash of cayenne pepper
2 pressed garlic cloves
add olive oil until the taste seems good... not too much though, perhaps 1/8 cup?

Refreshingly good...

Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls

This past weekend was my pseudo-birthday as Mr. E. and I were traveling home from a wedding weekend on my real birthday AND I was sick with bronchitis... no fun! So we pretended that this weekend was my birthday and so I made cinnamon rolls to welcome in my birthday weekend. You may ask why I made the rolls for my birthday (rather than Mr. E.). Well to put it simply, I love to bake and I would have been so impatient watching him have all the fun of kneading the dough and seeing the fruit of his labors. So I decided to create the breakfast for us and it was delicious. Not too rich, and not too sweet... just right and of so comforting to start the day. And yes, these cinnamon rolls are made with mashed potatoes :)


Ingredients
DOUGH
* 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
* 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 3 large eggs
* 4 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour
* 1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
* 3 1/4-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (scant 2 tablespoons)
* 2 tablespoons sugar

FILLING

* 1 1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
* 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
* 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
* 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
GLAZE

* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
* 2 tablespoons (or more) whole milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Preparation
DOUGH

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Combine potatoes, 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoon coarse salt in large saucepan. Boil until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Mash potatoes with water in pan (do not drain water). Add butter and mash until butter is melted. Whisk in eggs, then 1 cup flour; mash until very smooth. Let potatoes stand until barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup warm water into large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; stir in yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add potato mixture to yeast mixture; mix on low speed until well blended, 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Beat until sticky dough forms.
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Spread 1/2 cup flour on work surface. Scrape dough out onto floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes.
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Coat large bowl with butter. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make filling

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Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in medium bowl. Using fork, mix in butter.
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Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface. Roll out dough to 24x16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using large knife dipped in flour, cut roll crosswise into 12 pieces. Transfer rolls to baking sheet, spacing rolls about 3/4 inch apart. Cover baking sheet loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes (rolls will be very puffy).
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Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20 minutes. Cool rolls 10 minutes on baking sheet.

Meanwhile, make glaze

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Whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and coarse salt in small bowl. If glaze is too thick to spread, add more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls as needed. Spread glaze over warm rolls.

Bon Appetit Magazine, March 2009